


Breathe Blood Brother

by SecretlyMe



Category: Dexter (TV)
Genre: Brotherly Love, Brothers, Fix-It of Sorts, Murder, Serial Killers, ratings subjected to change
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-12-04
Updated: 2019-01-24
Packaged: 2019-09-06 20:35:43
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 2
Words: 9,764
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/16839955
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/SecretlyMe/pseuds/SecretlyMe
Summary: I’d left the door to Debra’s room closed, it was my final tell to know that Brian chose murder. I listened as he paused at the door, and then he made a slight heave as he jammed a chair under the knob on my side, effectively ruining the chair, and he had... He had locked fake Debra in.“I want what’s left of my family back,” He murmured, "If leaving Debra alive is how I stay alive and keep you then I’ll let her live.”-- I've wasted the resources of Brian and Dexter's stories, and I wanted one to be long and complete, so I stuck my hand into the magic hat and pulled out this idea.





	1. Chapter 1

I left Debra at the hospital in the end. The knowledge that Rudy was still out there, waiting for the moment to strike, was too much for me to let my sister come home with me. And I knew Brian would come back, because that’s what I would do, and he and I were the same in a lot of respects. I learned that last night.

The door to my apartment creaked open at the exact time the rest of the city went to sleep, and I knew my thoughts had been realized. Rudy _had_ come back, either for me or for Debra. Debra was safe though, and Brian wouldn’t kill me. He had the chance to a few times last night, and he’d chosen, each time, to choke me into submission. I don’t think he had the ability to hurt me permanently, and that realization would have been sweet in any other situation.

I could hear him walk around my apartment, could feel him like a needle across my skin, as he scoured the area for something out of place. He moved with familiarity I didn’t expect with someone who’s never been in here before, and it’s with a mental step that I realized how familiar he is with my life. He’s been in my apartment many times now. He’ll know the boards that creak and that table that’s a bit too far out, and if I was asleep, I would never have known he was here.

He came up beside me after he searched the rest of the room, and I wanted to hold my breath. Instead, I let it out slowly and then inhaled again. Exhale, inhale, exhale, inhale. I played the slow metronome of sleep as my brother watched over me, and I found myself hoping he'd catch me awake. I wanted to know what he'd do if he knew I was awake. Would he kneel down and talk, would he tell me to hold on and go to Debra, or would he pretend he didn't notice I was up? How brother was he and how serial killer was he? It was a question I might not ever know the answer to.

Brian walked away after a minute of watching me. My next exhale was a bit more forced, and all I wanted was to reach out and hold him back. Don’t let him make the mistake. It wasn’t for me to decide, that wasn’t what the Code was. I don’t stop killers from committing the act, I stop them from killing ever again. I had to resign myself to the fact that my brother was a murderer, and I had to put him out. I tightened my hand on the metal twine I held for this exact moment.

A chair squeaked with Rudy as he walked, and I fought the want to open my eye to see what he was doing. I’d left the door to Debra’s room closed, it was my final tell to know that Brian chose murder. I didn't know what he wanted with the chair, except maybe to jam it under the door so I couldn't get in while he killed Debra. The thought was smart, and it made me sad. I might have to wait for him to come out instead of sneaking up behind him, and then we’d have a fight. Would I win this fight? He’d been far better at fighting than I expected.

I readied myself to stand for when the door opened, because waiting for him to come out was not preferable in this scenario. I listened as he paused at the door, and then he made a slight heave as he jammed the chair under the knob on my side, effectively ruining the chair, and he had... He had locked fake Debra _in_.

Bynie came back over at the leisurely pace of someone who had no end in sight, and pushed the table away from the couch I laid on. I heard his clothes shuffle, then he went quiet, and then... the back of his head landed on my forearm, and his hair tickled my skin. The movement was so startling I jumped, and I knew he felt it. I opened my eyes, and I looked over at him, Rudy, Brian, the Ice Truck Killer.

He played with a knife he had brought with him, the same one he’d tried to get me to kill Debra with. His attention was on the corner of my apartment wall, a frown across his mouth and his eyes creased just the faintest, to show... something. He seemed to be thinking, waiting. I waited with him, because I didn’t know what he wanted. His plans with me had failed, I hadn’t killed Debra for him. I hadn’t killed him either, but I hadn’t had time to decide before the police showed up.

I didn’t know what to do now. I had been so sure he would kill Debra tonight, because it’s what I would have done the second I knew my brother didn’t choose me, it didn’t occur to me to think of what I’d do if he didn’t. I didn’t _want_ to kill him, but I was _going_ to if he attacked Debra, because Debra didn’t deserve to die. Now that Debra was possibly safe, I didn’t have to kill him, and I was lost.

What did I want with Brian? What did he want with me? Where did two serial killer brothers go from here? Rudy wouldn’t willingly use my code, he thought it made me an absurd avenger and he wasn’t happy at the idea of it, and I wouldn’t kill without a lot of forethought and planning that was ingrained into my brain by Harry. It was my protective blanket, my safety, and he didn’t have those. Still, he’d survived this long without giving away anything. It was only because he went directly for me that he was caught; otherwise he could have just... lived on killing. Like me now.

Maybe... maybe we could find a middle ground? He came here for a reason, and it was clear that reason was me. He was still in yesterday’s clothes, and he had some dirt in his hair from the tunnel he had built in our home. He didn’t have another place to go, and I was willing to bet he was only still in Miami because that’s where I still am. He was putting himself in danger to stay here, but he was here to stay with me.

“I want what’s left of my family back,” He murmured after a few minutes. He swallowed painfully before he continued, “If leaving Debra alive is how I stay alive and keep you, then I’ll let her live.”

The words hit me like a car and then sat on my chest like an elephant. My breathing stuttered, and if he hadn’t known I was awake before, he did now. My hand loosened on the twine, and I let it go. The resolve I’d had to kill him was gone with that. I couldn’t now if I had too. His words sank into me and I _felt_ \- and now I wanted my brother in any way I could get him.

“You’re wanted,” I whispered. He must know by now. His name, his real name, was on the news. They found our old home, they’ve likely searched every inch of it. Brian had nowhere to go.

“You decide what happens to me.” He answered. He held the knife he was playing with more solidly, and placed it next to his head, by my arm. I stared at the knife and felt the symbolism he meant. He gave me his weapon, his control. I knew how much I loved control, and I bet he did too; he had a plan with me down to the T, and fought when it was lost. I picked up the metal twine up and placed it on top of the knife, a physical symbolism I still wasn’t quite sure how to speak aloud. I knew he’d understand.

“I don’t want you to die,” I answered, because I knew if he was caught, that would be what happened. “I want my brother back as well.”

There’s was something of a smile on his lips then, and he looked over at me. I knew this was the real him, because his eyes burned something different from anyone else. They were _sane_ , and they were empty of everything except a glimmer of what I could only assume was want. It was a noticeable difference between his real self and fake self that I felt like anyone could see if they stared at him long enough. I'd met him when he was fake, and I saw how expressional he was then. Now he was... Comfortable.

He looked directly at me and I felt... My facade melt away. The depressions on my face ceased to exist, the lilt to my eyebrows dropped, I relaxed.

“We need a plan since you thoroughly ruined mine.” He murmured quietly to the real me. My lips quirked up a bit, and he focused on that for a split moment.

“I have tomorrow off. We can lock down the apartment and figure out what to do.” I answered just as quiet. Brian stared at me for a few moments, and then he sighed and settled in.

“Against a couch isn’t the best place I’ve slept, but it’s also not the worst.” He muttered as he crossed his arms. He placed his head more solidly on my arm, and I realized with some belated amusement that he was fully intending to sleep there.

“You can have the bed.” I mused. Brian’s lips tilted just a pinch, and he looked at me again.

“Despite how willing she was to marry me, I doubt Debra would appreciate me sleeping with her again.” He said airily. I smiled, real and genuine this time. It caught his eye, and I saw the flicker of furrowed brows.

“Deb is at the hospital tonight.” I snickered. Brian tilted his head like he was confused, and then he looked between me and the door. Then, at the knife and twine next to us.

The realization of how easily he could have died, how close to screwing up he had been, settled in his mind. He no doubt saw now how willing I had been to protect Debra. He saw my plan; how I would have snuck up behind him after he realized Debra was fake and choked him into submission. How he would have been my next victim.

He didn’t say anything afterward, and I didn’t have to explain further what I would have done. The twine I had now meant something more to him. I wasn’t going to use it on him like I did all my other victims, I was going to use it the second he posed a real threat to Debra. Since he hadn’t, I didn’t need it.

“Thank you.” He said as he rose. He looked down at me on the couch and smiled. His smile warmed me up inside. He ruffled my hair, and then he went to go sleep. He moved the chair out of the way and back where he’d found it, put the chain in place on the front door so no one could surprise us, and disappeared into my room to sleep in my bed. I settled into my couch for the night, and fell asleep feeling empty. Which was better than it was a few minutes ago.

I woke up in the morning to the smell of coffee gracing my senses. I opened my eyes slowly to see Brian holding a mug almost quite literally against my face. In his other hand was his mug of coffee that he sipped at. His hair was flat and wet, and the dirt that was on him last night was gone. He was in one of the shirts in the back of my closet, one that was a little too tight for me, and a pair of my pajama pants, which were too short for him. Off in the distance, I heard my washing machine going, and I knew why he was dressed how he was.

I sat up, took the coffee with thanks, and took in the new day. I had my brother in my apartment, in my clothes that were a little small for him, giving me coffee just like he had at my father’s place. _Our_ father's place.

The mug stopped part way to my mouth as that settled in. He was _our_ father, and our father had died with some sedative in his veins. The coroner had thought it was weird, but ultimately put it to an overdose of insulin as a diabetic, which was also present in him. Rudy had pushed the sedative off as something not important at the time, but Brian would know how sedatives and insulin injection worked. He was a doctor. And though I hadn’t known at the time, Brian was also my brother, and that was the first time I ever met him. What had he done when we met? Hugged me, and exclaimed he’d waited a long time for this.

“Did you kill our father?” I asked. Brian hiccuped on his coffee, and pulled it away to swallow his cough. He looked at me with appraising eyes, and then he nodded slowly, like he was sheepish.

“He was asleep... The insulin killed him, I just had the needle.” He explained shortly. I laughed, short and quick, and that was all Brian needed to know to know I didn’t have hard feelings about it.

“Were you that desperate to meet me?” I asked. I took my first sip of the coffee and savored the flavor.

“Yes,” Bynie answered softly. I looked at him sharply at his tone, and found I couldn’t fault him. I wasn’t up for meeting Debra’s boyfriends under normal circumstances, because they were usually too manly macho and ended quickly. So with Rudy, it had been the same thing. I hadn’t wanted to meet him, I expected it to be a quick fix and be gone. If he hadn’t shown up at my dad’s house, I can’t say I would have met him otherwise.

“Deb’s got a history of shitty boyfriends,” I answered, as if to explain it. “And an overprotective brother was never a role I played well.”

“She likely won’t be dating for a long time now,” Brian said cooly, and drank from his mug. I sighed.

“Why Debra?” I asked. Brian looked at me with hazel eyes, so nearly my own, and he sighed. He set his coffee down and placed his hand on top of mine. The warmth from the mug seeped from his hand into mine.

“She is what’s holding you back. Tying you to your old life with the Morgan family.” He explained slowly, as if simplifying it. I felt like immediately denying it, but I thought about it instead. Debra _was_ the last piece I had to Harry, our dad. Harry made me who I am today, with his teachings about the Code. If it wasn’t for Harry who knows who I would have been, and if it wasn’t for Debra after Harry’s death, who knows what I could have become. I took Harry’s death hard; they were my first real steps into a world out to get me from the get-go without someone to guide me. I couldn’t be too certain about what I would have become without Debra. Less cautious no doubt, more dangerous maybe. More like Brian.

“I would leave it behind if it meant she could live normally,” I said quietly. Because I might need Debra, but she didn’t need me. She could survive on her own just as easily as she does now, and if leaving was what it took to protect her, then I would pack right now.

“What about Rita? Or your job?” Brian inquired. I wondered why those mattered to him. Maybe he thought I had more things tying me down than that actually existed. Rita and the kids were nice, but if I left I’d only miss the companionship, and I could get that from my brother. My job was only there so I could have my fill of blood and get into criminal databases so I could research my victims. If I left with Brian, there would be no loss.

“They’re things that make me look normal,” I answered, and as soon as the words left my mouth, the ties they had to me disappeared. I could suddenly see myself leaving Rita and the job. They’d both move on. Rita was getting better on her own, her husband was gone, and she’d gotten over whatever problem she’d had with men. My job could easily be given to someone else.

“Would it really be easy for you to leave it all?” Bynie asked, as it to make sure I was sure. I shrugged, and looked at him fully.

“I’d want to say goodbye to it all in my own way, but... I think I could leave. I want my brother, and besides the want to kill, I’ve never... felt. Things feel good and things are nice, but they never induced emotion. You do, and I want to hold on to that.” I answered. Brian smiled, real and genuine, and then he removed it. In its place was a flat face with a sharp eye. This was the side of Brian that was the Ice Truck Killer. I sat up, and let my facade melt once more, just like I had very briefly last night. The real me and the real Brian faced each other, and we waited.

“We need a plan then. I can’t stay here forever.” He murmured. I thought for a moment, and he let me decide. I wondered how much control he had given up to give me that.

“I think... to keep Debra and my police squad from trying to find me, you should kill me,” I said. Brian’s eyebrow twitched up.

“How?” He asked.

I thought on that for a good moment. How do we set up the scene so everyone can see me die, without me dying? How do we set up a scene that gets Rudy Cooper to kill Dexter Morgan without the Miami police getting Brian Moser? The last thing I want now is for Brian to taken into custody, not so close to having my family back. What was distant, but near, personal, but away?

“A boat,” I realized aloud, and then jumped on the idea. “My boat. You could kill me on my boat, away from everyone else. They’ll see it, but be too far to help.”

Brian’s face twitched up and down as he thought about it, and I waited for him to reply.

“Why are we on your boat?” He asked finally.

“I’ll let it slip to my coworkers that you called me brother, that night you tried to get me to kill Debra. I’ll hint that you thought actual blood brothers, because I’m adopted and you had a brother named Dexter. You’d wait for me on my boat, because I ride in it almost every time I have free time, and you’ll try to convince me one last time. Then I could fight you...” I trailed off as I thought more about it. It was a tentative plan, and I could already see some holes. If I was Brian’s brother and Brian thought that, he wouldn’t try to kill me when I said no, unless I posed too major a threat to him.

“We don’t need a reason for you to attack me; I’m wanted by your precinct, I attacked your sister, I’ve killed countless people. When I go on the boat to talk to you, you could just try to pin me until your friends get near enough to help.” Brian enthused.

“Which won’t happen because you’ll kill me to get free... It could work.” I finished. We’d need times and dates, and I need to set the seeds in my peer's minds’, but that shouldn’t be too hard. I still need to be asked questions by Maria, I can let it slip then, and then they’ll do a blood test... The question was did I wait until everyone knows we’re related, or did I get on that boat with only the idea we are related in mind?

That question was quickly answered when the face of Doakes entered my mind. I need to get on the boat before they know the truth. As soon as it’s known we are related, Doakes won’t let me out of his sight. I can fake anger for a murderer, but I wouldn’t even know how to begin to fake a person that would fight their sibling and get them in prison. At least before the rest of the world know we’re related I have some reason to fight him. After they know the truth, they’ll see me get on the boat knowing he’s my brother, if I was even allowed out of the police station at all. I would be considered related to the criminal, and thus a possible companion and not just a witness. It didn’t matter if we’d spent years apart, rules were rules to the people I work with.

“If you mention being brothers, they’ll want to run a DNA test,” Brian said quietly, and broke me out of my downward spiral of what to do. He was looking at our abandoned mugs, almost like he expected rejection. I placed my hand on top of his, a reminisce of the night we found each other.

“It’s my promise to you that I won’t return here. Doakes will have a shit fit when he finds out it’s true, and I won’t be allowed back in the building after that. It’s a thorough way to ruin my career without ruining my image. I’ll be the big brother Debra always looked up to, and the honest peer everyone has worked with for years. No one will question their relationship with me or my existence as a whole. And since I’m dead, we can just slip away.” I said. Brian’s jaw muscles tensed, and I knew he felt some anger to that. The Absurd Avenger that’s a hero and a killer. He doesn’t like that.

“To be clear, I’m not actually killing you.” Brian jested, switching beats.

“No, you’re not. I wouldn’t do that to you.” I answered. He smiled once more, briefly, and then he was back to a neutral expression.

“Where would we go?” He asked seriously. This answer seemed like it should be the easy part. There are millions of places to go outside of Florida.

“Cuba? The America’s outside of Florida? Where did you plan to take us before?” I asked.

“Texas,” He answered easily. “That was before I became a future cop killer though. I think we should avoid the America’s for a while after this. I’m on national wanted lists now. We could do... Germany?”

“Germany?” I laughed. Brian smiled, like he was happy he could make me laugh.

“Great health care, great economy, a fair amount of criminal records, edges an ocean, which is your stiche.” He listed off. I laughed again, and Brian relaxed into his seat.

“In a yacht?” I asked.

“On an airplane. From Cuba. They don’t ask too many questions to white people. We should be able to get in and out easily.” He explained with a wave from his hand.

“With what money?” I asked, because that was a concern with travel. When I die, my accounts can't be used, and Brian's were no doubt frozen already. I couldn't pull money ahead of time either, because then that raises suspicion when I do die.

“That part of my plan can stick. I have thousands of dollars in cash.” Brian said smugly. I snorted, because that made sense. He had everything else planned, why not pull aside cash so there was no paper trail.

“So... that’s the basic plan? Plant the seed of our relations, find you on my boat, kill me, sail to Cuba, and fly to Germany?” I asked. The idea of the plan being final made me... relaxed. I felt like I could breathe easier.

“Guess so.” Bynie answered.

“Great, now the details. We can't be caught in the act.” I said. Brian perked up and leaned forward as if we were about to share a secret.


	2. Chapter 2

The new day brought a new me with it. When I woke up, I opened my eyes, and just... existed. I had so many things to do today: go to work and give a report, give blood, get home and pack, get to my yacht, get on the ocean, fake my death, and sail to Cuba; but right then and there none of it mattered. I might have to escape work, I might have to escape Debra or Rita, I might have to run for miles, but right then all of that was eons away. I didn’t have to worry about the mask I wore ahead of time, because at the end of today, it didn’t matter.

And, I had my brother. I _had_ a brother. I had my memories, old and new, and I got to create more of them with him. I'd gone to bed last night expecting to kill my brother and the last of my old memories, and fell asleep with my brother in the next room alive. I would be lying if I said that was hard to wrap my head around. My life had always been a whirl of surprise about what to expect and what to do when what I expected to happen didn’t happen. I hadn’t planned to keep him alive, but I was willing to roll with it because I wanted him alive.

It didn’t take long for me to hear the shuffle from the kitchen, and I sat up to see Brian again. I wanted to see my brother in the daylight of my apartment, and to make sure he was real. A small teasing part of my brain wondered if I finally cracked from hiding from everyone except him, and if I imagined he was there last night to comfort some lost psyche.

Like he knew what I was doing, Brian came around the corner with two cups of coffee and a rather nice smile across his face, and I abandoned my search just as quickly as it started.

“Big day.” He said cheerily, with an infectious grin I’d seen on Rudy’s face many times. He handed me a cup of coffee, just like he had yesterday morning, and sat down beside me. I took a moment to see how he looked today, just as an excuse to look at him and make sure he was still real. He was in his clothes instead of mine today, but his hair was wet and down in his face once more.

“The biggest.” I enthused jovially. Brian watched me for another few seconds, and then his face fell into a neutral expression. He leaned back against the couch, and sipped his coffee.

"Still ready for the day?" He asked tentatively. I sat back with him and looked over my apartment. I'd have to leave everything behind for this. My apartment was only here for appearances to the rest of the world, but it still felt weird to leave it. What would my landlord do with all my stuff? How soon would it be rented out again? I was impeccably clean by nature, and after I put the furniture in I never moved it again; everything would be ready for someone to just walk right on in.

"Yes," I answered. I'd never been more ready for a moment quite like this. My entire life I'd waited for the law to catch up, because eventually I'd fuck up, and nothing stays hidden forever. Now, I got to escape before my past caught up, if it did, and I was free after this. Freedom... It was something I didn't know I was lacking until now. Until Brian. It was almost poetic, this was what he spoke of the night he tried to get me to kill Debra, and now I was willing going along.

I sipped from the coffee happily as I leaned back against the couch with Bynie. He watched me with an amused expression and didn’t say anything else. There was really nothing else for us to say. We had the plan down to a T, just as he had with me before. Only this time we were both in on it and both of us were sure on what to do. There would be no adjustments. Others were easy to read, easy to manipulate. My biggest concern would be Debra, who wouldn’t leave the hospital until I got her, but I wasn’t planning on doing that. I was going to go straight to my office to talk to Maria LaGuerta, and then leave as soon as I could. No Rita, no Debra, nothing. I didn’t need them, they would weigh on the part that Harry created, my 'conscience'. Those that made me most normal. To do this, I needed to be me. _Not_ normal.

"I should head off to work," I said once my coffee was done. Brian looked over at me when I spoke, and he nodded. We rose as a unit and entered the kitchen to clean up our small mess.

I watched as Brian wiped down the countertops in a repetitive way, and I realized he was more like me than I thought. Neither of us could stand a mess. I should have guessed that, it was one of the signs of a psychopath, but I’d never seen it in action. Every other psychopath I’d met I had killed, we never got the time to do a tea party and wash up afterwards.

The future might be nicer than I expected with him. Debra was a piggish sibling, despite our mother’s attempt to straighten her up. I had long gotten used to picking up after her, but with Brian, it seemed he didn’t even leave a carbon footprint behind. It was refreshing.

“Don’t get caught.” Brian said cheerily from his spot behind the door, so no one could see him when I opened it. I looked at him before I opened the door, and for a brief moment, I wanted to call in sick. They would believe it, shock and almost dying would do that to someone.

“Right back at you,” I responded. Brian’s jaw tensed a smidge, like the thought displeased him, but he waved it off. He knew how to not get caught, he got to my place without anyone being the wiser.

I opened the door to my apartment slowly, and Brian made sure to stay out of the light. I closed it quickly once I was outside to minimize the probability of someone magically seeing my brother, and I waited for the bolt to click into place before I began the trek towards the car and work.

I entered the work space with donuts and a brighter smile than I think anyone expected. It took only the first floor before I realized I needed to tone it back, and it took one elevator ride for me to realize that I would have to put up with... A lot. The few people I met in the elevator asked me questions I hadn’t rehearsed, like what happened, where is my sister, had I seen the news, and I could already feel it grating on me. It made my resolve to find Maria all the more strong because I didn’t want to have to deal with all of these people.

“How’s Debra?” Angel asked when I walked into the office. I hummed for a second and offered him the donut box, because I hadn’t checked on her before I came here.

“She was out like a light when I visited. I couldn’t disturb her.” I fibbed. Angel nodded with a soft frown, which I think was his way of expressing silent sympathy. I didn’t know how to deal with it, so I slipped by and continued around the office to find Maria.

Many of the desks in the area were covered in pictures of my brother. Who I could only assume was Brian’s old boss sat with one of the lead investigators, and the rest of the force had a person each- probably patients of Rudy’s judging by the fact all of them had prosthetics. A few of them took a donut when I offered, and others looked at me like I was the local too-nice weirdo.

“You brought donuts?” Maria asked as I walked by her. I spun on my heel to face her and saw she was thoroughly confused. I could tell because her lips matched her eyebrows in the way they both frowned. I looked down at the box I held, half empty, and back up at her. I smiled in what I hoped was sheepish.

“After... everything, I wanted something normal. Bringing donuts to the office was one of those things.” I explained. Maria’s expression turned to one of concern, which I could work with.

“Before you hide in your office all day, we need to talk about what happened.” She said softly. I looked at her for a long second, and then at the donuts in my hand.

“Of course.” I answered. _The sooner the better._

I set my donuts off at Debra’s empty desk so it was open to the masses, and then nodded to Maria. She began her walk to... somewhere that wasn’t her original office. I forgot that her spot was replaced by another woman amidst all this chaos, Maria didn’t get to go in her own office anymore.

We walked a little ways down the hallway towards the briefing rooms used for meetings, and she ushered me into one with equipment already set up. She quietly locked the door behind me, and I took a good look around. It was a meeting room, plain and simple. There were no cameras to record me and the windows showed Miami brightly on the other side of the room. It was a good place to do this.

“This is a bit... formal.” I finished as I looked around the sunlit room. Maria smiled, and she looked apologetic.

“It’s better than my new square, out in the public. Please sit.” She said softly. I stopped looking around and instead looked at the long board table. On it sat a notebook, a tape recorder, and some pictures of Brian and the crime scene  
“Are you investigating me?” I asked with what I hoped with an amused quirk. Maria smiled easily.

“You were there with Miss Morgan and Brian Moser, and Brian Moser called _you_ when he tried to kill Debra. I managed to talk Esmee into letting me handle you instead of putting you in an investigation room.” She answered as she sat down. I took the seat beside her, and relaxed a bit. I’m not guilty, this wasn’t anything bad, it was just formalities. This was what I wanted.

“Anything you need.” I said eagerly. Maria smiled once more, and she settled into her seat.

“Let’s start off easy, with what you told us at the crime scene,” Maria began as she turned on the recorder. I watched the tape spin, and even though I knew it was just for safety, it still felt like an actual investigation. We were in a separate briefing room from the rest of my peers with the door locked. The difference here was that there were no cameras, it was just the two of us and a tape recorder. “You arrived at the house with Brian Moser in it?”

“No. I found him in the shed behind his house.” I answered easily, and watched her reactions closely. She was still smiling casually.

“Ok... Walk me through what happened when you got to the house then.” She coaxed. She pulled the pen and notepad closer to herself, and got ready to write what I said.

“Well... I rolled up to the house he’d talked about a few times before, and I found it was sorely taken care of. I exited my vehicle and walked up the path and found the door open. So I walked in, looked around a bit, and eventually left out the back.” I began. I made a conscious effort to include useless facts like the state of the lawn, so it appeared I was rambling a bit, but it worked for later in the story. Harmless for the most part, but good in the long run.

“Did anything seem suspicious about the house?” She asked. I paused, and thought about it. I made a conscious effort to look like I was thinking, because that’s what a normal person would do.

“The house was eerily empty considering he said it was his family home. I didn’t look too hard at anything though, I was... I was trying to find Debra.” I responded clearly while looking Maria in the eye. She nodded minutely, and wrote down what I said.

  
“Go ahead with your story.” She said as she finished writing my tidbit.

“Um...” I thought about it. “I went out the back door and found a shed that looked a little big and out of place. The house was old but the shed looked new. The door was unlocked as well, and I was able to enter...”

I paused, because the next scene had Debra, and I needed to be emotional. It was already taxing trying to look anxious, now I needed to be a big brother _and_ be anxious. I thought about how I would actually feel if some serial killer had targeted Debra, and I became livid. My hands clenched on the table, and I grit my teeth. That was a bad place to start. I should be heart broken, not angry, my sister was almost murdered, and I was a normal brother.

I had paused for so long Maria placed her hand on my arm and jostled me out of my reverie. It only took a glance for her to get that I was uncomfortable with the situation, and she took it into her own hands.

“Be brief, we can go over details as we go.” She encouraged. I looked at her carefully, gauging how she was taking this, and then I nodded. Brief, right.

“I opened the door, and... Rudy was holding a knife over Debra. He didn't react when I entered, and he greeted me like I was a friend. I entered farther into the room to see if Debra was still alive, and Rudy talked about how he was finishing her up for the kill. He called about wanting to be talked down, but... he... he wanted me to help.” I stopped, and squeezed my hands together. I looked away from Maria, because I didn’t know what I was supposed to express. Fear, anger, hate, love?

Maria paused in her rhythmic squeezing of my arm, only for a split moment, but I knew that had stumbled her up too.

“I said no, and he got angry. He said I had to, it was the only way. When I kept saying no, he decided to do it himself. He grabbed the knife again and made to stab Debra... and I grabbed his arm to stop him... It all happened so fast. One second I had his arm in my grasp, and the next I was in a headlock, and then... the police were coming through the door.” I finished abruptly. I couldn’t be too detailed, it would give away my uncomfortableness. Or lack thereof. I wasn’t uncomfortable with Debra almost dying, I just didn’t want it to happen. I was fully aware and conscious during the whole process.

“Thank you Dexter, that must have been hard.” Maria soothed, and ran her thumb over my arm. The move, I realized, should be comforting me, so I forced myself to relax underneath her grasp.

“You know what happened once the police got there.” I finished lamely, and looked back over at Maria. She nodded, and with a tight smile, she sat back in her chair.

“Where was Brian Moser in relation to the door when you entered?” She asked now, and thus began the long, grueling interrogation of my evening saving Debra. I answered each question slowly, diligently, and carefully. I couldn’t know too much, I couldn’t get angry, I couldn’t get defensive, those were all signs of someone guilty. I had to be slow, I had to be careful because of the recording, and I had to remember to say “I don’t know” where I actually did know details. Like why Brian used saran wrap tape on Debra instead of his usual contraption.

“How did you know to go to the house?” Maria asked after she’d looked over her pages of notes. I almost stumbled on the information, because she already knew why.

“Rudy- Brian, had mentioned his childhood home was that house, one of the times we hung out. And when he called me, he said the same exact place.” I answered after a few seconds. Maria wrote that down, as if nothing was out of the ordinary.

“All this information says he’s comfortable with you. Do you know why?” She asked curiously.

Yes, I did. I knew very much why, but I was never going to tell her. I was never going to say we were both serial killers, and he wanted me to know he accepted me in every way. That he’d used Debra to get to me, that he’d bared himself to me all of yesterday when we’d spent the entire day talking. That we were brothers.

“No,” I answered simply, and shrugged lightly. “The first time we met he hugged me, and every time after that he greeted me like he’d known me for years and not just since he and Debra started dating.”

Maria wrote that down with a frown, and I wondered if that had somehow screwed up my story. I’d never said Brian and I were or were not close, and towards the end of this fiasco Brian began showing up to talk to me at work. She would have seen him and us together. This couldn’t be as much as a surprise as she’s making it out to be.

“Ok... I think that's it. Easy, just as I said.” Maria said with a smile, and she flicked the recorder off. I looked at it, and then back at Maria. She’d never asked what I thought she would, _what had Brian said to you when you entered the unit?_ I didn’t get to say that he said ‘Welcome home, brother’. That was bad police work, Maria.

“There's one more thing, before we part ways.” I said as Maria began to rise. I jumped towards her, as if to physically keep her down, and Maria looked at me with a perched, made up eyebrow. She sat back down and studied me.

“What's that?” She asked, and turned on the recorder on one more time. I looked at it, and then at her. This was it, the make it or break it.

“I thought you were going to ask so I didn’t consider telling you sooner, but it was something Brian said...” I trailed off, and looked out towards the window. I had to make her inquire, I couldn’t just flat out say it. Maria looked at where I was looking, and then back to me.

“Anything you say could help, no matter how dumb you think it is.” She soothed. I glanced at her, and internally, I smiled.

“Um, I’m... adopted,” I said awkwardly. I didn’t actually know if she knew that or not. “And Brian said... well... he... he called me brother... It seemed... Loving.”

There. The seed was placed, and it hinted more than stated what I meant. I didn't want to say it outright, that meant I was comfortable with the idea. I had to hint to show my awkwardness.

Maria stared at me for a long time after I said that, and it seemed what I said had short-circuited her brain. We sat in an uncomfortable amount of silence as she figured out where to go from here. When she had, she leaned in close, and she got dangerously quiet.

“So you’re telling me Brian Moser called you a brother, and you think he meant you are related?” She whispered dangerously.

“Yes,” I answered. I pulled back from her, a little surprised at her intensity.

Maria watched me hard for a long second, and then she started to get up for the door.

“What are you doing?” I asked. I jumped up and grabbed her wrist, just to get more time before someone thought to lock me up. She rounded on me and was all at once the cop and detective she had once been. Now I knew why she was Doakes partner, they must have been fierce together.

“Being related to him makes you a possible accomplice.” She hissed at me.

“Being _possibly_ related Brian Moser makes me a _possible_ accomplice to the failed death of my _sister_?” I asked back, rather loudly. I hadn’t meant for it to be so loud, but I hadn’t expected Maria to jump on it so quickly. What I said got to her though. The corners of her eyes softened, her lips stopped being in that firm line they were in.

“You could be the reasons for the murders, that’s why it’s important we know if you’re related,” Maria responded. A second later she pulled back as if startled by her own words. “I’m sorry, Dexter. That was insensitive.”

“I could have caused all those deaths?” I asked, slightly startled at the prospect. I fell back in my chair as that washed over me. It was because of me that Brian started killing more frequently. I had thought the Ice Truck Killer was playing a game with me, and was using the bodies to be found, but I knew now that Brian had done it to get my attention. By proxy, those women’s deaths were on me. I think I’m supposed to feel something about that, maybe horror at inadvertently breaking the Code, but I didn’t. I felt almost amused and happy that Brian went through the trouble of killing them for me. Killing was a messy business, and he was just as cleanly as I was.

“I know that seems weird Dexter, but we can't overlook the two of you being related. Up until now, we didn't have a motive for Brian Moser. Now we might: you.” Maria said softly. I knew she was waiting for me to take my hand off her, but what if I was told to stay? I needed to get out and go home. I had four hours from the moment my blood got to the forensics to be on that boat and sailing to Cuba.

“Do I have to stay overnight in the office?” I asked as I finally let go of her. Maria smiled delicately.

“Most likely you’ll be sent home, again. We’ll get some blood from you now to check against Brian’s, and we’ll call you in the morning.” She soothed.

“Wouldn't it be better if I stayed here?” I asked, because it had to be said. The tape recorder was still going, and this was important to say. It screams that I had asked to stay, not asked to go home.

“Usually we would, but I know you, Dexter. You’re smart, and if Brian is your brother, or even _thinks_ he is your brother, he won’t kill you when he finds you.” She said, and she smiled beautifully. It was exactly what I needed, and I felt the stress lift from my shoulders.

Maria, you're a gem.

“Then I guess I'll give you my blood and then... go home.” I agreed. I smiled half cheerily at her, and then slumped into my chair. A man defeated is what I called this pose, and I had seen Harry do it many times. It always got some sympathy, and it was the last nail I needed to get with Maria before she left. Sympathy.

Like clockwork, Maria placed her hand on my shoulder for comfort while she used the other one to called someone on her phone. The pieces fell into place as she made the call, and now all I could do was hope my story lasted to the end of the day. I readied myself to be pricked.

I left my workplace a while later with orders to stay near home and not open the door in case it was Brian. I was fine with that, it gave the excuse to use my boat. My yacht is near my home, and Rudy can't knock on my yacht door in the middle of the ocean. Not that he would have to knock, he'd be on it before me.

I texted Brian my leaving time from work so he knew to unlock the bolt when I got there, and then got into my car to leave. I checked around to make sure no one was secretly following me as I drove away. I wasn’t suspicious yet, but I could never be too cautious. Not while this close to freedom.

I entered my apartment whistling jovially, and found the place suspiciously empty considering this morning I'd left Brian in it.

“Hello?” I called out as I locked my door. I slid the bolt in place, and set my bag down in my chair. I stopped moving then and waited.

“Hey,” Brian responded as he bounced up from behind the kitchen counter. In one of his hand was an entire cooked chicken breast, and in the other was a paring knife. This was the fourth time I'd seen him in my kitchen making something to eat since he’d gotten here, and it clued me into his personality a bit more. Brian Moser, serial killer, and serial cooker.

“You have a homey sense in the kitchen.” I stated. Brian looked at the two items he held, and then back to me. His upward turned smile fell slightly, and he set the two items back on the (no doubt thoroughly cleaned) counter.

“I would always help mom cook things, like mac-n-cheese. It's one way that helps me feel close to her now.” He answered casually. I paused in the removal of my boots, and I watched him. Now that he said it, I remembered. Our favorite food had been mac-n-cheese, and mom would cook it often for us. We'd try to help her; Brian usually got to add the cheese, and I would be there making a mess mixing it up. Afterward, Brian would carry me to the tub and wash my arms down.

“I remember.” I answered, unable to say anything else. It made my brother smile heartwarmingly, and he went back to the process of shredding the chicken with the knife.

“How'd it go?” He asked, and the moment struck me as very domestic.

“I'm here. They've got my blood. No one tailed me that I know of.” I ticked off. I finished removing my shoes and entered the kitchen. Brian glanced at me, and promptly handed me celery and a knife.

“How long ago?” He asked, and I didn't have to ask what. I began slicing the celery and noticed the knife smelled like onion.

“My blood would have gotten to the lab 25 minutes ago.” I answered.

Brian put the chicken in a glass bowl he had by the sink, where the onions I smelled were. Next to it was a jar of mayo with a spoon on top.

“So we have 3 and a half hours.” He summarized. I handed half of the cut celery to him, and started chopping the other half. He put it in the bowl and began to mix it with his hands.

“Just enough time to eat and head out.” I agreed after I’d finished chopping up the other half. Brian added it to the bowl, then added the mayo, and then began to mix the ingredients together thoroughly.

“Where are the yacht keys?” He asked. He put the bowl in front of both of us, and came back around with some crackers he'd found.

“The spare is hanging by my bedroom door.” I answered. I bet he knew exactly where they were, and had asked to let me know he was going for them. It was a kind expression of trust and knowledge, and it cemented my plan to leave with him even more.

“Thank you.” He ducked by me to get the keys, and I watched him go. I felt my muscles relax as I watched him almost prowl to the room, all the same monster that I was. It was refreshing in a way, to see someone like me that I didn’t have to put down. We had three and a half hours to go, and we were eating a casual meal before we sailed the ninety miles to Cuba in my yacht. It was a very weird dream come true; one I never thought to dream of.

“Keys, bag of clothes, money, and some food,” Bynie clicked off as he came back in. He set the items on the couch, kept the keys on him, and came up beside me. He grabbed a cracker and dipped in the chicken salad. “Anything else?”

“Hmm... Coffee?” I asked. He laughed shortly, and walked over to the cabinet. He grabbed the container, a zip-lock bag, and piled some of the ground coffee in it.

“Anything else?” He asked again. He set the coffee with the food, and looked at me with a slight smile. It was familiar and comfortable.

“I'm sure you got everything else.” I answered, and smiled back.

Thirty minutes later we were getting our last few things together and making sure that when my apartment was searched nothing _looked_ missing. I had three days worth of clothes between the both of us, a small duffel bag, and the non-perishables of my cabinets put away in a different bag. We were cleaning the space to its impeccable state that I knew Debra would vouch for, and then we would be off to the yacht to cover the next step of the plan.

“The sea yard is a little ways away, will you be able to make it?” I asked. Brian looked at the spare keys he hadn't let go of since he got them, and I saw his jaw set.

“Yeah. I'm good at blending in.” He agreed. I smiled at the little joke he slip. He was good at hiding, and had been for years. I bet he could hide from me now if he wanted too.

“I'll see you in a few.” I said, and waved to the door. Brian hefted the duffel bag of clothes over his shoulder and put on his hat. He tucked it back comfortably and shook out his body to be friendly to everyone else. He smiled nicely at me, and I knew I was looking at Rudy Cooper, prosthetic doctor and brilliant smooth talker. So long as no one knew what he looked like, he'd be untouchable.

“See you then.” He responded. We stared at each other for a few more seconds, and then Brian’s brows furrowed. A desperate look entered his eyes, and he stepped up close and hugged me tightly.

“I have to ask, before we leave out that door, are you sure this is what you want?” He asked. The grip he had on me felt crushing, just like the look in his eyes right before he got close. I thought about it one last time before I answered.

I was protecting everyone by leaving, and dying protected me from ever being looked for. Doing this saved Brian from the police as well, which was a major plus to both our books. Though, if I chose not to go, I could let Brian leave on his own, or kill Brian now. I could go back to my regular life, only this time everyone would know I was related to Brian Moser. That would ruin my credibility to work with the police though. Not to mention the news of us being related is going to shock Deb, and I didn’t know how to begin to fix that.

What about Rita and the kids? Could I so readily leave them? I’d made it this far without considering them, which had to mean something. But they had been such a large and joyful part of my life these last several months. They were what made me feel most normal, which was something Harry and I had worked for my entire life. But did I want to return to being normal, after being so close to freedom?

I pushed Brian away to look over his features, as if to find something that would help tie me to where I am now. What I would lose, what I would gain, what was worth it.

I looked at Brian, and the man that stared back at me was his real self, the monster people would shy from. He looked at me with dead eyes, a half turned smile, and raised eyebrows. It was like a puppy asking if he could play, and I knew it was Brian showing what he was so I knew what I was getting into.

All I thought was that I could be that. I could be that with him. No more hiding or faking, it would just be me. Dexter. In the end the pros of leaving outweighed the pros of staying, and the cons of staying were massive compared to the cons of leaving. It was all I needed to know what to say, and it was an easy decision for me to make.

“Absolutely.” I answered solidly. I was sure of this. The two of us against the world- or rather, Germany. It was likely going to be messy, and brand new to me, but it was worth it to be with my brother.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> To those that reviewed, thank you, so much. They meant a lot to me and they make my day every time I read them.

**Author's Note:**

> If you made it this far, hello! And I hope the story was ok. I'd appreciate a review (though not at all necessary!), because this story is open for interpretation. What do you want to happen or see? I'm open to everything, so long as the characters themselves would do it. I'm just the narrator, they're the story.
> 
> A note right now, this story will have an end. I don't want to leave it unfinished. I won't promise a set schedule, but I will promise never to leave it behind. Nobody likes unfinished stories. Until the next chapter!


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